Collection Management Policy for Hebrew & Jewish Studies
Section 1. A detailed description of the collection
1.1. Purpose and description
1.1.1.The primary purpose of the Hebrew and Jewish Studies collections at UCL is to support
the teaching and research of the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at UCL,
and related teaching and research in other departments.
1.1.2. The collection also serves as a library for members of the Jewish Historical Society of
England. As a collection of national and international significance it is an important
resource for researchers from throughout the UK and overseas.
1.2. Readership and access
Readership includes:
1.2.1.Staff and students of UCL. Due to the demands placed on the collection, access by
undergraduate and taught postgraduate students from other institutions is restricted.
University of London students are given reference access but those from other
universities are excluded except during UCL vacation periods.
1.2.2.Academic staff and researchers from other institutions are welcome to make use of
the collection at any time.
1.2.3.Members of the Jewish Historical Society of England are eligible for borrowing
membership of UCL library
1.3. Description and holdings
1.3.1.The collection was established to support the teaching of Hebrew, which was
expanded to include other aspects of Jewish studies in the 1960s. In addition, the
Mocatta Library was founded in 1906 in conjunction with the Jewish Historical Society
of England, to house the library of Frederic David Mocatta, which had been
bequeathed to the Society. The Mocatta collection grew over the succeeding decades
through gifts and purchases but was destroyed by bombing in 1940. The Mocatta
Library was reconstituted through donations during and after World War II and reopened in 1954. A further addition was the Altmann collection, which was formed
from the library of Alexander Altmann in 1987. The Hebrew, Mocatta and Altmann
collections were merged in 1990 to form a single Hebrew & Jewish Studies collection.
In 1993 a separate Yiddish collection was formed with the generous support of William
Margulies: this is a comprehensive collection on all aspects of Yiddish culture,
especially Yiddish literature from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries, and
materials relating to London as a Yiddish literary centre.
1.3.2.Approximate number of volumes held (books): 29,000
1.3.3.Summary statement of coverage
1.3.3.1. Main subjects covered:
 Jewish history from biblical times to the present
 Anti-semitism and the Holocaust
 Israel and Zionism
 Hebrew language and other Jewish and Semitic languages
 Hebrew Bible
 Mishnah, Talmud and Jewish law
 Midrash
 Jewish homiletical literature
 Jewish liturgy
 Jewish mysticism
 Jewish philosophy and ethics
 Jewish literature, Hebrew literature
 Judaism and the history of Judaism
 Arts and Sciences in relation to Judaism
 Yiddish language and literature
1.3.3.2. Number of current periodical titles taken: approximately 91 (other relevant
titles may be included in ejournal packages)
1.3.3.3. Databases, indexes: databases specific to Jewish Studies are freely available on
the web
1.3.3.4. Other resources : some material is held in DVD, CD and microform formats
1.3.4.Current location:
1.3.5.Material held off site: Approximately 11,000 volumes of books are held in the offsite
Store; journals from before 2000 and those held in electronic form (apart from recent
issues) are also held in Store.
1.3.6.Special collections
There are over 185,000 items of Jewish interest held at UCL Library Special Collections,
including:
The Gaster Papers Correspondence and papers of Dr Moses Gaster and his family,
dating largely from the 1870s to the 1930s, also including some material on Gaster's
life and work which post-dates his death. The bulk of the collection comprises Gaster's
correspondence; it also contains his own notes, manuscripts, illuminated certificates,
photographs, press cuttings, posters, notices of lectures, ephemera, picture postcards
and Victoriana. The subjects range from rabbinic literature and Judaica to philology,
Slavonic and oriental studies, and refugee issues. The collection was given to UCL in
1974, but was originally on loan from 1960. There are over 170,000 items altogether.
Jewish rare book collections The Mocatta, Gollancz, Wolf, Solomons and Myers
printed collections contain many items dating from the 16th-18th centuries, chiefly
liturgies, Bibles, commentaries, editions of the Mishnah, works on the Kabbalah,
polemical tracts, sermons, service books, grammars and dictionaries. Of particular note
are the many editions of the works of Josephus and the Sefer Yosippon of Joseph ben
Gorion. There are eight incunabula including a 1480 edition of Summaripa's Martyrium
Sebastiani.
Manuscript Collection This includes two of the most valuable illuminated manuscripts
in the Library, an extremely rare 14th century Castilian Haggadah and a 16th century
Mahzor.
Mocatta and De Sola pamphlet collections Include some extremely rare titles and
cover a wide range of subjects including rabbinic literature, Zionism, and the State of
Israel.
Other archival collections include the Altmann archive, Goldsmid letterbooks,
Institute of Jewish Affairs archives, the Montefiore Family Papers, the Society for
Promotion of Christianity among the Jews archives, Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor
archives, Trades Advisory Council archives and the Lucien Wolf papers.
1.3.7. Relationship to other collections in UCL
The Hebrew and Jewish Studies collection has an overlap with subjects such as History,
Ancient History, Archaeology, Comparative Philology, Philosophy, Literature, and
Slavonic and East European Studies.
1.3.8. Relationship to collections outside UCL
UCL staff and students have access to Senate House Library and to the School of
Oriental and African Studies Library, which has a strong collection in Jewish Studies,
especially in Israeli literature and Yiddish. UCL staff and students can apply for access
to the British Library, which has an extensive Jewish Studies collection.
Section 2 Acquisition
2.1 Responsibility for selection: The Subject Librarian for Hebrew & Jewish Studies, within the
framework of the Collection Management Policy, undertakes selection of materials, in close
liaison with the Department. Recommendations are always welcomed from staff and students.
Final responsibility for collection management lies with the Director of Library Services.
2.2 Subjects collected:
 Jewish history from biblical times to the present
 Anti-semitism and the Holocaust
 Israel and Zionism
 Jewish biography
 Hebrew and related languages
 Hebrew Bible
 Rabbinic literature
 Jewish liturgy
 Jewish mysticism
 Jewish philosophy and ethics
 Hebrew literature
 Jewish literature
 Judaism and the history of Judaism
 Yiddish language and literature
2.3 Acquisition priorities:
 Material needed for teaching
 Material related to current research
 Important works in the subject areas listed in section 2.2
2.4 Level: Undergraduate, postgraduate and research level
2.5 Language: Material will normally be collected in English or Hebrew, but may be collected in other
languages where relevant e.g. material in Italian on the history of the Jews in Italy; international
standard works; important works related to core research.
2.6 Format and medium: Material is collected mostly in printed form, but also in electronic,
microform, and audio-visual formats. Electronic format is preferred for reference books and
teaching material where multiple copies are required.
2.7 Collaborative collecting agreements: There are no formal agreements in place. However, the
Subject Librarian uses discretion as to the purchase of research-level materials held in other
collections locally. UCL is a member of the Hebraica Libraries Group.
2.8 Multiple copies: These will be obtained when demand is high on taught courses.
2.9 Donations: Donations will be accepted for the Hebrew & Jewish Studies collection subject to the
criteria outlined in the Library Services Donations Policy.
2.10 Exchange and deposit arrangements:
Material may be exchanged with other libraries.
Items from the library of the Judith Lady Montefiore College were deposited at UCL by the
Montefiore Endowment in the early 1960s.
A small collection is held on deposit from the Lewis Family Trust.
2.11 Exclusions - material not collected: Material below undergraduate level.
Note: The Yiddish collection has a separate acquisitions policy – see appendix
Section 3 Retention and preservation policies
3.1 Review of the collection
The open access Hebrew & Jewish Studies collection will be reviewed annually for decisions on
retention, relegation to store and disposal. These decisions are the responsibility of the Subject
Librarian for Hebrew & Jewish Studies, although the advice of members of relevant UCL
Departments may from time to time be sought.
3.2 Use of open access space
Open access space is used for:
 Reference material
 Material required for taught courses
 Material of high to medium use
 Recent publications
 Periodicals dating from 2000 onwards that are not available electronically
3.3 Relegation
Items meeting the following criteria may be relegated to store:
 Pre-1850 printed material (held at Special Collections)
 Rare/valuable material (held at Special Collections)
 Low use material
 Synagogue/community journals
 Pamphlets
 Material in poor physical condition
 Material available in electronic format
 Duplicate material, unless required for taught courses
3.4 Retention and disposal
Material is not normally discarded; however, where material is relegated to store, only one copy
will be retained, any additional copies of identical editions being disposed of unless required for
future teaching. Damaged material is disposed of if it can be replaced.
3.5 Preservation
The Library’s collections are preserved according to the principles set down in the Preservation
Policy, accessible on the web with all public policy statements from Library Services. The
preservation of digital materials is dealt with by the Digital Curation Strategy.
Policy review procedures and dates
This policy will be reviewed and approved periodically by the Hebrew & Jewish Studies Departmental
Library Committee.
Last reviewed May 2010
Appendix: Acquisition policy for the Yiddish collection
A1. Responsibility for selection: The Subject Librarian for Hebrew & Jewish Studies, within the
framework of the Collection Management Policy, undertakes selection of materials, in close
liaison with the Department. Recommendations are always welcomed from staff and students.
Final responsibility for collection management lies with the Director of Library Services.
A2. Subjects collected:
 Yiddish linguistic materials both current and from earlier times
 Yiddish literary materials of all periods in the original Yiddish and in translation
 Yiddish literary criticism in Yiddish and other languages
 Political and sociological materials relating to East European Ashkenazic culture and to its
Yiddish-speaking continuations overseas
 Materials relating to London as a Yiddish literary centre
 World literature translated into Yiddish
 Yiddish children's literature and pre-war pedagogic material written for children
A3. Acquisition priorities: New works published in or about Yiddish
A4. Level: All levels
A5. Language: Materials are mainly in Yiddish, English and Hebrew, but may be collected in other
languages where relevant.
A6. Format and medium: Material is collected mostly in printed form, but also in electronic,
microform, and audio-visual formats.
A7. Collaborative collecting agreements: There are no formal agreements in place.
A8. Multiple copies: Multiple copies are not normally acquired.
A9. Donations: Donations will be accepted for the Yiddish collection subject to the criteria outlined
in the Library Services Donations Policy.
A10. Exchange and deposit arrangements: Material may be exchanged with other libraries.
A11. Exclusions - material not collected:
Translations of non-literary works into Yiddish
Bibliophile editions
Editions of primarily art-historical significance